Conundrum

16

Harry Styles

I'll be honest, I'm not the ideal investigator at the moment. Something else is taking up most of the space in my head. Or rather someone...

Alyssa truly hasn't left my mind since she walked away from me two days ago in the library. I've been thinking about her constantly. Her voice, her lips, her skin, her hands, her taste. Fuck, I could kiss this girl forever and never get tired of it. I even fucked my hand in the shower when I got home that night, thinking about it.

I feel so strange, I don't recognize myself in all of this. Who even am I? I never care or think about anyone but myself and the case. Until now, that is.

I knew making her choose between me and Irish boy was a bit of a gamble, but after that night in the bathroom, I was willing to take my chances. And on Wednesday she only confirmed that I made the right choice. Not only do I get her to myself now, she's also not in the hands of someone who could possibly hurt her. After all, Niall is on my list.

Which brings me to my current mission. This little love triangle between the three of us has given me a good excuse to talk to him. And just because I've kind of stolen Alyssa from him, I still need to know what I need to know. He doesn't get special treatment.

Niall was there that night and he's a guy, which instantly makes him a suspect. From the very start, I've believed it's a guy. It just makes more sense for it to be a guy. I don't see why a girl would have done it. I know girls fight dirty, but not like this.

As I walk down the hallway towards the canteen, I see him walk out of a classroom with a couple other guys. Just like I knew he would. I quickly catch up to him and tap his shoulder. He turns his head and surprisingly his expression doesn't really change when he sees me.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" I speak lowly, not really interested in the whole hallway eavesdropping. He just nods with a clueless look, which I actually don't blame him for. I mean why would I be talking to him? I've got what I wanted now, haven't I?

Not quite yet mate, not quite yet.

We wait for everyone to leave class and then we go back into the now empty room. There's still bits and pieces of chalk writing left on the board that's probably been sloppily cleaned over in a hurry when class ended.

Niall runs a hand through his blonde locks, looking at me expectantly, probably waiting for me to start talking.

"I- uh, I just wanted to make sure there were no hard feeling, you know, over Alyssa" I hear my deep voice speak, sounding louder than anticipated in this quiet room.

I catch myself getting a little nervous all of a sudden. I'm horrible with talking about emotions and I'm worried that it's going to show, that that isn't my intent with this conversation at all.

"Oh, yeah man, sure, it's no worries" he immediately responds, seeming a little confused as to why this is a conversation we're even having.

Again, I don't blame him.

I'm not exactly known to be a lovey-dovey guy and if there's anyone who wouldn't take initiative to have a conversation like this, it's me. I'd be confused as fuck too if I were him.

"I mean maybe it's for the better, you're quite the party-guy aren't you?" I ask, beginning to angle the conversation so I can ask my questions and get the hell out of here.

"You could say that... yeah" his accent speaks and he leans back on a table, resting on his hands.

"I just mean, I've seen you at Jeremy's quite a few times" I casually say, relaxing a little more now that I feel like I'm back on track and headed in the right direction.